Day 62
June 19
zero

I sought out a breakfast place in town that I thought would be healthy, bypassing the place that most of the hikers were eating at. There were only a few other patrons there, and I felt a bit lonely sitting by myself. I asked for soy creamer in my coffee, which did not look or taste as good as coffee with cream. It was a disappointing feeling not to be able to enjoy my normal treats. I didn’t know how I was going to be able to hike without being able to have my morning coffee to boost my mood in the morning. After looking through the menu, I ended up ordering the artichoke omelet that they had listed as one of their specials. Being new to a lactose-free diet, I was learning what I could and could not eat. The omelet had cheese in it, and I did not realize until a few hours later that I had made a big mistake in choosing what I did for breakfast.
I walked back to my room and gathered my clothes to put in the washer, started cleaning my stove and other gear that needed washing and began to sort through my resupply. I headed over to the healthy cafe after a couple of hours and ordered a latte with almond milk and a gluten and dairy free strawberry coconut muffin. A group of hikers were seated around a table and one of them, a young guy that I recognized from the yoga class I taught at kick-off, motioned me over. I thought he was going to say something to me about the class, but instead said “Hey, did you have the scariest ride of your life from that guy that took you up to Onion Valley?” I smiled. Somehow, he was far more terrifying to the guys than he was to me. We exchanged stories about our rides with him, and then I just sat at the table next to them sipping my latte while they tried to figure out how to get to a music festival that was beginning tomorrow.
I headed back to my room and skyped with my Swiss friend. My stomach was already hurting and the pain continued to increase throughout the day. The only thing I could do was lie down in my bed.
I thought that a sushi dinner might be good for my stomach, so I headed out across town, stopping in the natural foods store again to find out if they sold a non-dairy powdered milk alternative for my coffee. I ended up buying some soy milk powder and a few more lactose free snacks. I ran into Hermes and Lotus on the way to the sushi place and told them about my injured achilles and painful stomach. I was not able to enjoy the sushi at all, and had to practically force it down, while the pain in my stomach increased. My breakfast had done me in for the day. As I attempted to walk back to my room across town, I had to keep telling myself that I only to make it 10 minutes more before I could lie down again. I focused on each step and continued to tell myself that I didn’t have much farther to go.
Once back in my room, I lied down and texted a friend who was not sympathetic to my pain. He told me it was time to quit and go back to Boston. I tossed the phone down. I had hoped to get back on the trail tomorrow, but right now, all I could do was rest and hope the pain in my stomach would subside.